Improbable Works : Hermione the White
by Shaun Garin
Summary: [One-Shot] Change a tiny little thing in the history of mankind, and specifically, a certian Muggleborn called Hermione Granger, and you have this. Fourth in a series of Improbable Works.


Improbable Works  
  
Series #4 : Hermione the White  
  
J.R.R. Tolkien owns everything in Lord of the Rings. JK Rowling owns everything in Harry Potter. I keep nothing but charecterization sacred, and write to the best of my abilities.  
  
The story is a first year AU, focusing on Hermione who had a very different past indeed. There will not be any random elvish in this story, considering that I have a very little elvish knowledge beyond the word Yrch.  
  
**Hermione the White is also now a one-shot until specified otherwise.  
**  
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"Excuse me, but have you seen a toad?"  
  
Harry and Ron looked up from where Ron was attempting to cast a spell on Scabbers the Rat. There, standing in the doorway was a girl with bushy brown hair that fell in gentle waves. She was dressed in Hogwarts robes, but to their surprise, they were a pristine white, almost blinding to look at. Most of the robes however were hidden under a thick cloak of grey. Harry actually squinted and Ron threw up his hand reflexively. In one hand, she carried an ornate staff that wove itself into a decorative head that seemed fitted for someone much taller.  
  
"Oh, you're doing some magic? How quaint this modern magic is. Go on." said the girl.  
  
Ron, a bit unsure of himself, waved his wand over Scabbers. "Sunshine, daisies, butter mellow... turn this stupid fat rat yellow." He tapped Scabbers, but Scabbers merely yawned and curled up for a nap.  
  
The girl stiffled a giggle. Ron glared at her and said, "Well, I suppose you could do better?"  
  
"Much." The girl muttered something in an unfamiliar language and gestured her staff across Scabbers. The rat squeaked and turned a shocking neon yellow. The girl, looking satisfied with her results, said something else and Scabbers reverted to his common dirty brown color.  
  
"What kind of spell was that?" Ron exclaimed. "And how did you do it without a wand?"  
  
The girl pulled a twelve inch wand from her robes and looked at it. "Anything can be a source. You just need to know what to use it with. Oh, forgot to introduce myself. Hermione Granger, the White."  
  
"Ron. Ronald Weasley. And this is Scabbers." He nudged his pet rat which curled up and squeaked.  
  
"And I'm Harry. Harry Potter." Harry said. "Tell me, why are you wearing white Hogwarts robes with a grey cloak over it? I thought you could only get them in black."  
  
"It is a family thing," Hermione replied. "Our family is decended from a powerful Wizard and wizards and witches of our family wear white, blue, brown or grey."  
  
Ron peered at it and then snapped his fingers. "I know that staff! Dad showed a picture of it when we went to the Ministry! That's the staff of Gandalf the White!"  
  
"Gandalf the White? Wasn't he a charecter in a book?" Harry asked, confused.  
  
"Sort of," Hermione said. "Great Grandfather Gandalf was a wizard who predated even Merlin and rivaled him in power. He died as the Grey, but was brought back to life by an ancient spell of some sort, and became the White. The staff when he was the Grey is lost in the depths of old Moria when he fought the Balrog. He then lived for more than three fourths of a millenium. A muggle friend of his, JRR Tolkien was so impressed with his friends deeds that he transcribed some of his adventures into the Lord of the Rings novel you see today."  
  
"Wicked," Ron said, awed. "I heard that your family sends a Granger to school once every twenty years, and the rest are apprenticed in the family magic."  
  
Hermione laughed. "Well, our family normally has two or three children a decade, so I have lots of cousins. I'm an only child, and the staff chose me."  
  
"The staff chose you?" Harry asked curiously.  
  
Hermione nodded. "The staff chooses its master, as it is a powerful, and somewhat sencient magical artifact. It chooses the one who it believes will make a great impact on the magical world. And, it can sence if someone is going to turn out bad or good. So it depends on what the staff determines as acceptable." Her expression darkened. "There were some people who turned out to be bad and they were still able to use the staff. So I guess it has an odd way of determining who is worthy of it."  
  
As time wore on, an annoucement filtered over the cars, saying that they would be arriving at Hogwarts shortly. Leaving the pair to change, Hermione swept out of the car. Ron grinned as he said, "I hope she's in our house. It'd be interesting to see one of the oldest wizarding families with us."  
  
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"Granger, Hermione."  
  
Hermione easily stood out in the sea of black robes, even with the splendor of her robes hidden by the grey cloak over it. Sitting down, she laid her staff on her lap and placed the Sorting Hat on her head.  
  
"Hmmm...." said the hat. It did not speak aloud, nor speak in telepathic manner. It was like a little voice next to your ear. "Very estute mind you have here. And a Granger, my my, is this a surprise. I remember sorting your father into Hogwarts. A Ravenclaw he was. There's quite a bit of bravery here, excellent for Gryffindor, and lots of intelligance for Ravenclaw. I'm afraid you won't fit into Slytherin or Hufflepuff my dear. Not odd and patient enough and you have too much bravery within you to block out ambition."  
  
"Well? Which is it?" Hermione asked, playing along with the Sorting Hat.  
  
"Better make it... GRYFFINDOR!"  
  
Gryffindor House erupted into cheers as Hermione slid off the stool and replaced the hat on the stool. Taking up her staff which towered over her by a good two feet, she sat down and leaned her staff on the side of the table.  
  
Two red haired teenagers sat beside her. The first one stuck out his hand. "Welcome to Gryffindor," he said. "I'm Fred, and this is George."  
  
"Hermione," Hermione said, shaking hands with them. "My goodness, does it take so long to sort students into their houses?"  
  
"We're a bit slow this year, probably because there's quite a few." George said. "Lets hope Ronniekins gets into Gryffindor."  
  
"True, true, I'd hang myself if he got into someplace like Slytherin." Fred agreed wholeheartedly.  
  
"Mother would be crushed," George said with a twinkle in his eye.  
  
"And she'd send him howler upon howler." Fred finished.  
  
"Oh that reminds me; we should remember to blow up a toilet and send Ginny that seat." said George.  
  
Fred grinned maniacally. "Very good, I had forgotten about that! Excellent!"  
  
Hermione was in giggles as "Potter, Harry" was called. "My god, you two are insane!"  
  
"Runs in the family," Fred said.  
  
"Father is somewhat of a nutter in the family, extends to us," George finished.  
  
Just then, the shout of "GRYFFINDOR!" echoed in the room as they applauded for Harry's venture into Gryffindor. Soon, the name "Weasley, Ronald" was called and everyone heard the Sorting Hat's gripe about another Weasley being in Hogwarts. Ron's ears went pink and Fred and George howled in laughter. But he too was sorted into Gryffindor and the sorting was done after "Zabini, Blaise" was sorted into Slytherin.  
  
Dumbledore stood up after Professor Flitwick returned the Sorting Hat to an antechamber in the side of the Great Hall. Clearing his throat for attention, he said, "Welcome! Welcome to a new year at Hogwarts! Before we begin our banquet, I would like to say a few words. And here they are : Nitwit! Blubber! Oddment! Tweak! Thank you!"  
  
Dumbledore sat down amidst applause, and the feast began. Hermione heard Harry ask another red haired boy whom Fred said was their brother, Percy, "Is he a bit mad?"  
  
Hermione giggled as she started in on the food that had been sent up by the House Elves. It was delicious, as good as her mothers cooking. Her mother, being a muggle tended to cook in the muggle way while her father came from a similar family where his mother was a muggle and his father was a wizard.  
  
Hermione listened to the chatter around her, and indulging in some of her own, specifically questions about classes and such. The Weasley twins were helpful in telling the names of various professors. There was a little man who she learned was Professor Flitwick who taught Charms and Ravenclaw's house head, Professor Vector who taught Arithmancy and Professor Sprout who was both the Hufflepuff house head and Herbology professor sitting and chatting conversationally.  
  
Then there was Professor McGongagall who taught Transfiguration and was also the head of Gryffindor house, Professor Sinistra, the one who taught Astronomy at midnight, and Rubeus Hagrid, the groundskeeper of Hogwarts. On the other side of Dumbledore sat Professor Quirrell who taught the DADA. Hermione noticed that he was exceptionally nervous for some reason or other and wore a gaudy violet turban.  
  
Sitting next to him was Professor Severus Snape, Potions professor and head of Slytherin House. There were more professors but due to the fact that Professor Trelawney rarely ventured out of her tower, and Professor Binns was dead, being Hogwarts only ghost professor and did not require nourishment, they were not present at the opening banquet. There was no sign of the Muggle Studies professor, and was considered an oddity in Hogwarts as he or she had not appeared at most banquets.  
  
Soon into the banquet, a ghost floated up through the roast turkey, startling Ron and Harry and a few others close by. Hermione fought the reflex to drop her cutlery and smack the immaterial ghost with her staff. "Hello there!" The ghost exclaimed jovially. He was a ghost who wore clothing from the old victorian age, complete with a giant ruff about his neck. "Quite the lot of Gryffindors this year. Sir Nicholas de Mimsy- Porpington at your service. Resident ghost of Gryffindor Tower."  
  
"I know who you are!" Ron exclaimed, mouth half full of roast mutton. "My brothers told me about you -- you're Nearly Headless Nick!"  
  
"I would prefer to be called Nicholas de Mimsy --" Nick started, but was cut off by Seamus Finnigan.  
  
"Nearly headless? How can you be nearly headless?"  
  
Hermione giggled at Nick's miffed expression as he said, "Like this," and yanked his head off, revealing an inch of skin and sinew holding it on like some kind of ghostly, fleshy hinge. Returning his head to its proper position, amidst gasps of shock around the first years, Nick remarked that Slytherin had won all of the house championships for the last seven years, and he expected Gryffindor to win.  
  
Soon, the food vanished and was replaced by puddings of all types. Ice cream, jelly doughnuts, chocolate eclairs, rice pudding, jelly, and other such hearty foods. Hermione helped herself to some treacle tart as she contemplated the start of classes for the next day. She was quite eager to get into the start of modern magic, and even as bookish as she was, she hadn't learned all of the Sindarian spells yet.  
  
Magic back in the old day before all of the modern types was divided into two types : wizardry and sorcery. Sorcery was the equivilant of dark magic, but much more subtle in nature than curses. Wizardry was commonplace amongst her family, and was quite subtle in nature.  
  
While most wizards of the modern age used wands, a wizard of her family was defined by the color of their robes and the power of their words of command. Hermione, due to her knowledge and skill since she was young, was a white level wizard, one of the most powerful wizards of the old age. Her mother was a white, and her father was a black. Black was the strongest of all, but had the tendancy to become erratic in old age. And very few, since the age of her great grandfather Gandalf had become black, most stopping at the level of white.  
  
Most of the main family line turned out to be white wizards, while the rest came in varying shades of brown, grey and blue. white and black seemed to be a constant in the main family vein with the odd smattering of grey wizards.  
  
Hermione was well versed in most of the words of command, as each Granger child with magic within them were taught the most basic spells such as Animal Messenger, Bane-spells, Beast Speech and even Beast Summoning. Even the lowest level of Grangers, the browns, could do those. Hermione could do things such as Blinding Flash, Burning Sparks, Display Power and even Evoke Awe. Evoke Awe and Display Power at the same time was quite the method of dealing with bullies of any sort, for in combonation, it made the caster look very tall and powerful, and lightning or thunder can crash to enuciate their power. Her grandfather when labeling the spells he used, didn't need any fancy latin words, just plain old english, and were mostly sung in some language he claimed was mostly Sindarian.  
  
As the banquet came to a close admist excited chatterings of first years and casual conversation within the second to seventh years, Hermione gathered up her staff and held it in her hands. She noted absently that her hands went straight to the staff, a habit she must break sometime. The Professors would probably be most upset with Hermione carrying a great big staff everywhere she went. Professor Dumbledore then stood, and the hall fell silent.  
  
"Ahem - just a few more words now we are all fed and watered. I have a few start of term notices to give you. First years should note that the forest in the grounds is forbidden to all pupils. And a few of our older students would to well to remember that as well." Dumbledore's twinkling eyes flashed in the direction of the Weasley Twins.  
  
Fred and George exchanged mischevious grins as they silently plotted out their next prank that would include the Forbidden Forest. Hermione giggled under her hand as she nervously toyed with the staff in her hands. Not everything could be forbidden here, could it?  
  
"I have also been asked by Mr. Filch, the caretaker, to remind you that no magic should be used between classes in the corridors. Quidditch trials will be held in the second week of term. Anyone interested in playing for their house teams should contact Madam Hooch."  
  
At this, Hermione looked interested. Her family, while part of the wizarding community, preferred Muggle sports such as football, american baseball and american football. She had personally had only seen Quidditch in magical books, and was looking forward to her first flying lesson. Ancient Magic, while ancient, could not make someone fly like a bird without enchanting something, or calling one of the Wind Lords from their roosts in northern Scotland.  
  
"And finally, I must tell you that this year, the third floor corridor on the right-hand side is out of bounds to everyone who does not wish to die a very painful death." There was a smattering of laughter, but very few did. Obviously, annoucements involving death weighed heavily on people.  
  
Harry Potter sat near where Hermione sat, turned to Percy and muttered, "He's not serious?"  
  
"Must be," said Percy, frowning at Dumbledore. It's odd, because he usually gives us a reason why we're not allowed to go somewhere - the forest's full of dangerous beasts, everyone knows that. I do think he might have told us prefects, at least."  
  
Hermione decided that she would take the annoucement seriously. Though her natural curiosity got to her and she pondered why a floor would be forbidden in a magic school.  
  
"And now, before we go to bed, let us sing the school song!" cried Dumbledore. There was a tiny bit of muffled groaning and the professors smiles became strained. Dumbledore flicked his wand and a long golden ribbon flew out and twisted itself into snake-like into words.  
  
Hermione sang the song as quickly as possible, and the song lasted a full five minutes with Fred and George singing it like a long funeral dirge. As Dumbledore conducted the end of the long song with his wand, he was one of the few who clapped loudest. Obviously, it had become something of a strain for the professors, as it was more or less a forced venture each year.  
  
Dumbledore then annouced the bedtime of the students as the tables became clusted with chattering crowds. The first years, including Hermione followed Percy behind him. Anyone who got lost followed the long spire of Hermione's staff as Percy had held it up so that first year Gryffindors would not get lost.  
  
Suddenly, Percy halted and people piled up behind him. There, floating before them was a bundle of walking sticks. He took a step forward and they began to throw themselves at him. "Peeves," Percy whispered to the first years. "A Poltergeist. Peeves -- show yourself!"  
  
There was a loud and rude sound, reminicent of air letting out of a balloon, or someone had sat on a muggle whoopie cushion. "Do you want me to go get the Bloody Baron?" Percy added.  
  
There was a pop and a little man with wicked dark eyes and a wide mouth appeared. Hermione, being that she was in the front, reacted predictably. She grabbed her staff from Percy and yelled something in an unfamiliar language. There was a brilliant flash and Peeves fell to the ground, stunned and dazed. Percy stooped, prodded Peeves as best he could and then turned to Hermione. "What did you do?"  
  
"It is a spell, designed to damage spirits or ghosts. It dazes them long enough to make an escape. Perfect for Poltergeists." Hermione had recomposed herself. "I suppose we should report this then?"  
  
"No, he had it coming." Percy sidestepped an unconcious Peeves and called out, "First years, this way!"  
  
Fred leaned over to George and said in a low voice, "I think I'm going to like it having her around."  
  
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Authors notes : Chapter 1 is finished! After so much time! I'm sorry it's so short, but there is only so much you can do while recreating the first year.  
  
As a note to everyone, especially Digital Faith, I have edited this chapter for errors. Thanks for pointing out that Arithmancy typo. 


End file.
